Looking to Congress to Fix What's Broken?

Faith Leaders Say Jan. 6th Commission Downplays Role of Christian Nationalism.

Worse Than Nothing

                                                 The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism.

Chile!

 

"We cannot forget a community that is suffering from an illegal occupation, a community that is resisting, a community that is seeing its rights and dignity violated every day," Chile's leftist president said.

Around the World, Regardless of Religion...

 

                                                    Reactionaries sing the same bigoted song.
 

Confirmation Bias

                                                 What it is and why it's problematic.

The High Price of Delusion

                                                                 Right-Wing Media.

End the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict

                                                                 Demand Peace!

Bob Dylan - Slow Train (Official Audio)

Al-Jazeera Sues Israel in ICC

                                                             Read more here.

After Dobbs

                                                                                Data.

Once Upon A Time...

 

                                                                        In Pittsburgh.
 

Operation Higher Court

                                         Evangelical Lobbying in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Frances Fox Piven

                                                         U.S. Midterms Postmortem.

The Christian Right and the Club Q Massacre

             Once again, Colorado Springs becomes a site of Right-Wing violence.

The US Military-Industrial-Complex

                                         Purveyor of White Supremacy around the world.

The American Anti-Imperialist League

                                                                     Some history.

American Apocalypse

 

I was able to take a lot of what has been happening in recent U.S. politics in stride—including Trump’s election in 2016—seeing it as a pendulum swing (with some anomalous, extreme edges) that, sooner or later, would swing back, until I read Matthew Avery Sutton’s book, American Apocalypse (2017). 

 

Sutton demonstrates that the great Right-Wing revanchement that began to gain visibility in the late 1970s and took off with Reagan’s election in 1980 was about 150 years in the making. White Evangelicals first set their sights on dominating American churches during the Second Great Awakening (early 19th century), but towards the end of that century they decided to add the Federal government to their list of targets. They are now deeply entrenched there (even though there are signs that their grip on the churches isn’t what it was even ten years ago), and they are spreading through State and local governments. 

Living in Colorado Springs, I have been careful to distinguish the theologico-political atmosphere here from other parts of the state and the country as a whole. But I’m afraid that the rest of the U.S. is beginning to look more like the Springs than I was previously willing to admit. And now the Donald is planning his Second Coming.

 

In the U.S., white Supremacy, apocalyptic Christianity (which, like it or not, has historical roots in the primitive Jesus movement), militarism and imperialism (which, ironically, formed the crucible from which the Jesus movement emerged)—are not going away anytime soon. That’s bad news not only for this country but for the rest of the world.

 

Until you've read Sutton's book, you will not realize how deep the roots of White Christian Nationalism run in these United States. Nor will you recognize the ways in which agencies of the Federal government are part of the problem (an example can be found here).  

Tracking Trump's Endorsements

                                                                                Here.
 

This is the Election You Get for 9 Billion Bucks

                                                                 The Hartmann Report.

Mike Davis

                                                                           Rest in Peace.

Stop Funding Terror

 

2022 Midterm Elections

                                                       FiveThirtyEight Election Forecasts.

Civil Disobedience

                                                         In a Palestinian refugee camp.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

 

                                                                        An Interview.
 

Some Lessons on Planning for the 21st Century

                                         From the World's First Socialist Economy.

Politically Astute

 

Adolf Heusinger (1897-1982)

 An interesting career trajectory for a close associate of Adolph Hitler's.

In a Truly Civilized Society...

 No one would say, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer." They would say, "You'll be hearing from my satirist."

U.S. Aims to turn Taiwan into Giant Weapons Depot

                                                     Just what the world needs.

The Robbing of Rural America

                                                         Read about it here.

Fascism on the March

                                                                     Italy, again.

The Courage to Say "No" is the Courage to Be Free

                                                             Refuser Solidarity Network.

Some Commentary on Some of Donald Trump's Legal Woes

 

                                                                    At Above the Law.
 

The Great Leap Backwards

                                         In the face of inevitable demographic change.

Truth

 

Biden's Afghan Shell Game

                                                             The "Afghan Fund."

Nixon and the 1973 Coup in Chile

                                     What did Nixon know and when did he know it?

The Surveillance State

                                                             And White Supremacy.

Journalism and the Death of Democracy

Accuracy no longer matters. Witnessing no longer matters. Conformity matters.

Just Gimme Some Truth

 

Gimme Some Truth (Remastered 2010)

The House of Windsor

 

"Corrupt As Hell"

                                                     Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas.

Meme

 

Student Debt Relief

 

The US military has a long history of recruiting poor people by offering benefits like free college. With Joe Biden’s partial student debt forgiveness, GOP war hawks are fretting that the military won’t be able to prey on desperate young Americans anymore.

Personhood and Abortion

                                                             An archaeological essay.

A Defector's Tale

                             Victor Grossman on life in the German Democratic Republic.

Howard Zinn at 100

                                                 The People's Historian.

Follow the Money

                 Remember when Barack Obama pledged to do something about this? 

                He decided against biting the hand that feeds him.

Ireland and Abortion Rights

                                                     An inspiration for the US?